Changes
by Vainilla Clide
Summary: After some events that led Gray to say to Juvia that he cared about her, she starts noticing the changes in his interactions with her. [Gruvia Week 2014 - Day 3: Change] I'm sorry I suck at writing titles.


**Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, its characters and their stories.**

3.- Change

Juvia's feet almost made no sound at all as she carried herself towards theguild. It wasn't that long a way between Fairy Hills and the Fairy Tail building, but she had taken the long route there. It was still early in the morning, but the already hot summer weather reminded her of the warmth of the beach and the ocean's breeze not a week ago she had enjoyed in Hargeon. It had been some peaceful four days, relaxing under the sun and just doing nothing. Plus, Gray-sama had been there. And after they finished the job he had actually said to her that he _cared_ about her. At that moment she was thrilled, happier than she had been in like forever, but after Gray bid her goodnight, she had stayed awake for a good part of the night, thinking. Had he said it in the way Juvia imagined? Care was too much an ambiguous word, if the one that said it didn't make it clear what was its intent. She hoped and hoped that he cared about her the way Juvia cared about him, but she knew this was Gray, he wasn't that direct about his feelings, nor he expressed them that freely. She would just have to assume that he only meant he cared for her as his nakama and his friend. But she was finally relaxing, he had intended to actually talk with her, and he for once had expressed what he was thinking. The sound of a train leaving from the station she had just passed on brought her back to the present. After the mission she had noticed how Gray was changing, especially around her. He seemed to be slowly waking up from that gloominess he had sunk himself in after the Games. And he was spending time with her, too much to be normal. Gray was still Gray, so as he didn't talk too much it was more than a little difficult to understand his change in behaviour. She noticed, as well as Lucy and Erza, that his stripping habits were back on full mode. And although she was intrigued as to why all of this was happening, she couldn't say she was the least against it. She was just focused on enjoying it. It was true that her demeanor had changed too. She was controlling her stalking impulses and just relishing his company, trying to act as normal as possible, and more than one of her guildmates had asked her for it, Erza being the top one. She didn't really know what was pushing her to do that, she just felt it like she didn't have to recur to those shenanigans anymore. As she came to that conclusion the guild doors appeared before her. She continued walking peacefully, enjoying the great weather. When she was about to enter Lucy came fuming furiously through the doors. She stopped when she saw Juvia.

"Juvia!" She smiled sweetly to her, not at all matching the face expression she just had a moment ago. "Would you like to go shopping with me?"

Juvia could see the plea in her eyes. And she felt the eagerness Lucy-san had to get away from the guild.

"Juvia would be very pleased, Lucy-san." Lucy made an incredulous face for a second, but quickly smiled again, this time sincerely.

"Come on! Let's go!" Lucy grabbed her hand and started walking towards the shopping district in Magnolia.

After less than an hour with Lucy dragging her from store to store, trying things on while Juvia waited outside, and finally Lucy buying nothing, they were walking to the last store Lucy wanted to visit.

"Juvia, can I ask you something?" Lucy said, as light as a feather. "Do you think Natsu is as dense as he seems? Or is he just acting for the sake of not confronting my feelings?"

She sounded sad. No, she sounded defeated. Juvia knew the feeling, she had experience it more than once, always related with Gray-sama. But she had stood up every time, she wouldn't take a no for an answer. And right now, her relationship with Gray-sama, not romantic yet, had developed and she was more and more happy everyday. Lucy didn't seem like she would have the strength to stood up. Juvia couldn't leave it like that. She could have been a possible threat to her because of her friendship with Gray-sama, but she clearly wasn't a love-rival anymore, she had just somehow confessed her feelings about Natsu. So she determined herself to cheer her up.

"Don't worry about that, Lucy-san. Natsu-san can be a little...slow, when it comes to this topic, but I can assure you, as the rest of the would, that he really isn't that incompetent about that. He may take his time, but Juvia thinks he will acknowledge your feelings, that he will acknowledge _his_ feelings. Don't worry." She smiled reassuringly to her. Lucy returned the smile but she didn't seem convinced. She shook her shoulders and continued walking.

"Thank you Juvia. Can I ask you something else?" She now sounded cheery. She also didn't wait for Juvia to give her permission. "What is going on between you and Gray? You seem closer than before."

Juvia stopped dead on her tracks. Erza was one thing, but that Lucy was asking it while been overly happy, was another. She saw how Lucy continued walking, not noticing how she had stopped. Then she turned around and faced her with a frown on her face.

"Juvia? Is anything wrong?" She seemed genuinely worried. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked." Lucy was like that. She liked to pry, much like anyone else in the guild, but she often felt guilty about it.

"No, nothing's wrong, Lucy-san. You just took Juvia by surprise." She smiled to her and resumed her walking. "You know about the job Gray-sama and I took last week?"

"Yes, Gray told me you gained four free accommodation days in Hargeon after finishing the job. Was it good?"

"Juvia enjoyed it alright. But..." She hesitated, she would like to keep what Gray had said to her. But Lucy had shared with her what was happening, so she felt bound to told her what was through her mind, also. "After we finished the mission, Gray-sama told Juvia something. At first she thought he was referring to something Juvia had been expecting for a lot of time, but later she pondered about it, and came to a different conclusion..." She knew she wasn't giving much details, but she couldn't bring herself to.

"What exactly did he told you?" Now she couldn't scape giving the details.

"Gray-sama told Juvia he 'cared about' her. Ju-" She was cut off by the squeal of delight she heard from Lucy at the same time she gave her a hug. A little surprised she returned the hug, and when Lucy-san finally released her she started asking her questions about how, why and where had it happened. She didn't give much thought and told her how had the incident went exactly. Lucy then shared her thoughts about it with her.

"Maybe you are right and Gray didn't mean it romantically, at least not consciously, but, if I know him enough, Juvia, I would say he really is changing." She smiled profusely. "He is opening up, and it is all thanks to you." She intertwined her arm with her and started walking back towards a store they had already been before. "Now, if we want him to finally acknowledge he feels something for you, we have to make him notice you."

"But Gray-sama notices Juvia, he is even spending more time with her than before." Saying it out loud made Juvia even more happy about it. Gray sama was really changing, or at least letting his true self show. That self that had been buried under ice and sarcastic comments for far too long. And Juvia was there in the front row to see it happen.

"I agree he notices you, and that he is spending more time with you. Mavis, we would have to be blind not to see it." She made a pause while she grabbed the pommel of a boutique they had entered before. "But we have to make him _notice_ you, _notice_ the feelings I, as well as Erza, are sure he has for you." She went straight to the section where the dresses were. She started to pass each one, giving a quick look to them, until she arrived to one Juvia recalled she had tried on before. She tossed it to her and none too much gently pushed Juvia towards the changing rooms.

"I had tried that dress before, but it didn't suit me. However, I think it's just perfect for you."

"Lucy-san, this dress is too summer-y for Juvia. It's too short." Juvia's cheeks went pink quickly enough.

"That's what we want it to be Juvia. Try it on!" Lucy cheered and closed the curtain to give her some privacy.

Juvia's eyes carefully studied the dress. It was simple but beautiful, its bluish floral pattern drawing almost all the attention. She slowly put in it, and turned to look herself in the mirror. Lucy was right, the dress was perfect. It clanged to all the right places and its color complemented her hair and eyes without going too astray from her usual outfits. It also showed her guild mark, stopping just at her mid-thigh. She loved it.

"How is it?" asked Lucy, and without waiting, she opened the curtain. "Mavis, you look wonderful, Juvia! It suits you perfectly." Then she went out of the changing room and Juvia heard her talking to the shop assistant. In less than a minute Lucy was back with a pair of navy blue sandals. "Try them on! You can't wear boots with that dress!" She handed them to Juvia and waited for her to put them on. "There, perfect look. Don't change into your normal clothes, we are going to the guild." Leaving Juvia there, she went once again to talk with the shop assistant. Juvia heard something about charging it to Lucy's account. She gathered her clothes and boots and went out into the shop. Lucy came to her with some paper bags in hand.

"Lucy-san, you don't have to. Juvia can pay for herself." She said as the other girl carefully put her clothes in the bags. Juvia felt bad for Lucy paying her dress when she often complained about having not enough jewels to cover her rent.

"Don't worry Juvia. I'm just happy to help a friend." She smiled that sweet smile of hers and took her hand, guiding Juvia to the doors. "Now, lets see if we can get some response from that idiot."

"Thank you, Lucy-san."

* * *

They arrived soon enough to the guild, not yet even mid-day. As soon as they were inside, Juvia's eyes searched for Gray. He was sitting in a corner of the guild, alone, a glass of whiskey in front of him. Perhaps he was still thinking about what happened after the Games. With a look from Lucy she stopped looking at him.

"Not yet. Just relax and go to him in a bit." She gestured towards the bar counter. "Let's get something to drink first. I am sooo thirsty."

"Alright, Lucy-san. Thank you again for the dress." She followed Lucy.

"Let's see first if it works." Lucy chuckled. "Mira!" She called to the barmaid, whom just put her usuals in front of them. Milkshake for Lucy, mint tea for Juvia.

"You look great today, Juvia" When Mirajane talked with that sweet voice no one could suspect the demon she had inside. "It seems you have caught someone's eye." She giggled while her eyes moved past Juvia and Lucy. Juvia slowly turned to look in the direction Mira was gazing and saw Gray, now talking to Erza while she ate yet another cake.

"G-gray-sama? He's just talking to Erza-san." She didn't believe Mirajane. "He hasn't even looked to us."

"I wouldn't be so sure." With that and a smile, Mira left. Lucy then turned to her.

"Come on, time for you to go there." She pushed Juvia to the direction of Gray's table. "Just talk to him, like you have been doing lately." Just then Natsu arrived asking for Lucy's forgiveness, blue exceed trailing behind. Juvia took that as her leave.

She started walking towards Gray and Erza, but when she was about to get there the exquip mage rose from the table and walked to her.

"I like your new look, Juvia. The dress is a nice change from your usual attire." Without giving any time for Juvia to answer she left, and Juvia walked alone to the table and sat across from Gray.

"Ohayou Gray-sama!" she beamed at him. Just being in his presence raised her mood.

"O-Ohayou, Juvia." Had Gray-sama just stuttered? She took a good look to his face. His cheeks were pink, maybe he was feverish or something.

"Is Gray-sama feeling well? His cheeks are pink." She moved her hand closer to his face and aimed for his forehead, but Gray ducked away.

"I'm okay, it must be the heat in this damn place."

It hurt her. She just wanted to know if he had a fever, and he had just lied flatly to her. Juvia wished it didn't show on her face, but she already felt her smile faltering, and her eyebrows knitting in a frown. He still didn't trust her. He really had seemed to be opening up, but he didn't even let her know if he-

"You look beautiful in that dress, Juvia."

Juvia looked up with astonishment, blushing furiously. Gray-sama had just told her she looked beautiful. Right now she felt even happier than she had when he said he cared about her. Gray seemed like he was avoiding her look, and Juvia could have sworn his cheeks were even redder than before. He didn't have a fever. He was blushing. Juvia could die right here and she would be happy. Or not, because if Gray-sama was blushing, maybe Erza and Lucy were right. Maybe he really was changing. Maybe he really felt something for her.

"A-arigatou, Gray-sama" And she blushed even more.

* * *

A/N: Hi! First of all, thank you to all that read, reviewed, favorited &/or followed this story (SnowLili, Lumiiere, NelielNyx, NudgeThePyro, Raimy-fantaisie, Simlop, mslynn1994, thedemigoddesmage, xgasai-yunox, xsamiichan, Thaysh, fullbuster juvia, sparkles princess)

Day 3 completed! If you have read my other one shots, you know that this is a counterpart to the day 2 prompt, just that this one's from Juvia's point of view, and Day 2 was from Gray's POV. I apologize again for any grammar mistakes, sumimasen :S

I hope you enjoyed it! If so, leave a comment or something, I don't bite! I also would like for you to tell me if there is something you don't like. I can't improve without constructive criticism, can I? ^^

Really hope you like it :3


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